Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area

Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area.The 47-year-old former NBA player was arrested Tuesday at his home by FBI agents after a federal indictment was unsealed. He and three others each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and eight counts of wire fraud.
The indictment alleges Minniefield was a real estate agent in fraudulent home loans designed to secure payments for expensive upgrades that were never performed. The indictment claims he represented buyers even though he never met them and they never visited the properties they were supposedly buying.Minniefield also is accused of contacting the sellers' agents to propose language that would increase the sales prices of homes by including a substantial payment for the renovations.Phone calls to Minniefield's attorney and officials with more information about the arrest weren't immediately returned.Minniefield played at Kentucky from 1980-83 and remains the school's career assists leader with 646. He spent three seasons in the NBA, playing for Cleveland, Houston, Golden State and Boston.The conspiracy count carries a punishment of up to five years in prison, and each wire fraud count has a maximum 20-year term. All the counts could result in fines totaling $250,000, and the indictment is seeking a forfeiture of $10 million.